PUTRAJAYA, May 14 — Five former students of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (UPNM) have withdrawn their appeal against their conviction and three-year prison sentence for injuring UPNM Cadet Officer Zulfarhan Osman Zulkarnain seven years ago.

Lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad informed the Court of Appeal here today that the five appellants withdrew the appeal as it was now academic and no longer relevant as they have completed their three-year prison sentence, which was served in 2021.

Deputy Public Prosecutor K. Mangai did not object to it.

The appellants are Muhammad Akmal Zuhairi Azmal, Muhammad Azamuddin Mad Sofi, Muhammad Najib Mohd Razi, Muhammad Afif Najmudin Azahat and Abdoul Hakeem Mohd Ali. All of them are now 28 years old.

However, the five appellants, together with another friend, Mohamad Shobirin Sabri, are still serving an 18-year prison sentence after being found guilty by the High Court on November 2, 2021, for culpable homicide not amounting to the murder of Zulfarhan.

Judge Datuk Hadhariah Syed Ismail, who headed a panel of three judges, with the other two namely Judges Mohamed Zaini Mazlan and Datuk Azmi Ariffin, then revoked the appeal.

The court had previously fixed May 14 to 16 to hear the appeal.

Meanwhile, 12 other former students of the university who were also sentenced to three years in jail for injuring Zulfarhan did not withdraw their appeals.

They are Mohd Hafiz Fauzan Ismail, Mohamad Lukhmanul Hakim Mohd Zain, Ahmad Shafwan Berdal, Muhammad Amirul Asraff Mala, Luqman Hakim Shamsuri Agus, Muhammad Sufi Mohd Mustapha, Noriznan Izzairi Noor Azhar, Muhamad Ashraf Abdullah, Muhammad Danial Firdaus Azmir, Muhammad Hasif Ismail, Muhammad Adib Iman Fuad Ady Sani and Mohamad Syazwan Musa.

They were found guilty of deliberately injuring Zurfarhan to coerce a confession from him that he had stolen a laptop, as charged under Section 330 of the Penal Code.

All of them, now 28 years old, were charged with committing the offence in two rooms a the Jebat dormitory block, UPNM, between May 21, 2017, and May 22, 2017.

Zulfarhan died at Serdang Hospital on June 1, 2017. — Bernama